Engagement is the goal of all communications, and digital signage gives you a vibrant, dynamic medium to grab attention and inform, educate and entertain your audience. For engagement on digital signs, you should concentrate on the user experience at every stage of planning, design and delivery:
- Have a digital signage champion
If you don’t have someone dedicated to making your signage a success, it will fall flat. Make sure you have at least one champion who strives to keep your visual communications dynamic.
- Choose where and when to engage
Don’t send every message to every screen. Instead, display the right thing to the right audience at the right time by choosing your players based on viewers and using daypart scheduling.
- Craft beautiful designs
If it’s ugly, no one wants to look at it. Use branded templates, coordinated colors and vibrant images; and limit text in messages so the screen doesn’t feel too crowded or confusing.
- Include motion and movement
Motion attracts the eye, so make sure your screen has at least one thing moving at all times. Simple animated icons, message transitions and videos are an easy value-add for viewers.
- Use attractors to draw attention
These are common things like date, time, weather and news headlines. People will check screens often for these items, and then they’ll see your other messages alongside attractors.
- Show something they care about
Survey your audience to find out what they want on screens. Also, walk through periodically to see what catches people’s eye. Build on successes and scrap the stuff no one looks at.
- Change layouts frequently
Keep your screens dynamic by not only changing messages, but change where they appear on screen by shifting zones around in your layout. It will make the information look brand new.
- Limit your playlists
Make your playlist match your audience. If your screen is somewhere people linger, you can show 20-30 messages. If your viewers are just passing by, keep it to 10 or under.
- Communicate in campaigns
Instead of relying on a single message on screen for a few seconds at a time to get the point across, craft campaigns that tease, communicate and then reinforce a single communication.
- Gamify your messages
Put some fun into your messages by offering prizes for participation. Ask viewers to scan a QR tag, visit a website or snap a photo to excite your audience and provide instant ROI for you.
- Always include a call to action
You only know your signs are a success if you can measure ROI. Make sure you ask your viewer to do something once they’ve read your message – and make that action measurable.
- Make it interactive
Communication is interactive. Either use touchscreens to provide a more personalized experience for the viewer, or involve them by showing social media feeds and other screen sources they can contribute to.
Want to learn how digital signs can help engage employees and visitors? Contact us.In the meantime, download our free infographic with 12 easy steps to help you ensure your signs are always engaging:
